Sisters Kareen and Marie Seignon crossed the finish line \u2014 together.<\/p>\n
Twenty-six years ago, their journey began in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where they were raised by their grandparents and father after their mother passed away.<\/p>\n
But on April 28, Kareen, 25, and Marie, 26, turned their tassels together as official Wolfson Campus Honors College graduates.<\/p>\n
They will both attend Smith College in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have never been separated,\u201d said Kareen while trying to remember a time in which her sister was not present. \u201cAh, yes!\u201d remembers Marie, \u201cwe were separated for one year in high school, I was one year ahead, but then she caught up to me and we were together again.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2008 Marie and Kareen moved to the United States in search of a better education and opportunities.<\/p>\n
They had begun their studies in Haiti; Kareen at the University of Haiti studying law and linguistics and Marie started medical school at the University Notre Dame of Haiti.<\/p>\n
At The Honors College, however, they both studied biology.<\/p>\n
Leaving their family behind, the sisters embraced their new lives in the United States, facing the hardships of living in a foreign country without any family to rely on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so different coming here,\u201d Marie explained. \u201cWe were used to living in Haiti and only having to worry about our studies.\u00a0 But once we moved here we had to take up the responsibilities of a job and studies.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Kareen, one of the greatest challenges was learning English. But despite the language barrier, she strived to persevere.<\/p>\n
\u201cKareen was my student in English course, she was always ready, always proactive,\u201d said Mayra Medina, a language professor at the North Campus.\u00a0 \u201cHer disposition has always been evident of her ability to move forward. She is definitely a success story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although they had each other, the sisters felt the need for their family\u2019s support.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiving alone for us was not a problem,\u201d Kareen said, \u201c our father was helping us as much as he could, so we were fine. But knowing that we were alone made us feel like we had nothing to fall back on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marie and Kareen plan to return to Haiti to serve as educators and promote medical research.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to go back to make a difference\u201d Marie said. \u201cWhatever it is, it is home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sisters Kareen and Marie Seignon crossed the finish line \u2014 together. Twenty-six years ago, their journey began in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where they were raised by their grandparents and father after their mother passed away. But on April 28, Kareen, 25, and Marie, 26, turned their tassels together as official Wolfson Campus Honors College graduates. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":255,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\n